Three crates separated the horse and some other creature tied off on the other side. He raised his eyebrows. “Please?”
“Sorry. When I’m at my father’s house, I’m used to requests being worded as orders.” She gave him a gut-tightening, genuine smile. “Please.”
Anything, doll. Yeah, those words had just about slipped out.
He looked at the kitten, which had sharp-as-shit teeth; he knew personally because it had thought his finger was the bottle’s nipple and clamped on. He bit back a curse and shoved the nipple at the cat. “What is this thing? A tiger?”
She shot him a playfully derisive look. “It’s a bobcat kitten. Too much for you?”
He took in the adorable face of the suckling cat. Then the puncture wounds on his finger. Yeah, as docile as the woman sitting next to him. He gave her a pointed look. “I can handle her.” Both hers.
“That remains to be seen.” She gave him a challenging look and buckled up. “Her name is Freedom. One of my supporters found three kittens on his land, no sign of the mom. They were emaciated and covered in fleas. I found a cat sanctuary that will raise them so they can be returned to the wild, but the habitat won’t be ready for another week. I’m in charge of them until then. The other two are with a different foster mom.”
Freedom was kneading Risk with her claws, purring away while puncturing his thighs. If the critter shifted a half inch, things could get dicey. Literally.
“She likes you,” Addie said, staring at the kitten.
“You say that like you’re surprised. Females love me.” He gave her the smile that made every woman he’d used it on smile back. And sometimes more. Heck, even grandmas responded.
She frowned instead. “I’ll bet you use that smile as your pickup line.”
He felt the smile fade. “Okay, I believe you. You’re gay.”
Addie started the engine and pulled out. She handled the vehicle like a pro, taking corners efficiently without sending the van into tilt. Her arms were toned, though he doubted she did curls at a gym. She kept her attention on the road, studiously ignoring him. He wasn’t about to let her get away with that.
“Have a girlfriend?” he asked.
Her eyes shifted to him briefly. “Shirley. She’s my partner in Animal Huggers.”
“Shirley.”
He attached a hot redhead to the name and sank into a fantasy about the pinup girl and Addie tangling in the sheets of one of those outdoor beds by the sea. He walked up the steps into the private cabana and gave them the smile. Addie whispered something to Shirley, who nodded, and both women looked at him with hungry eyes. That same hunger he’d seen in Addie’s eyes earlier. Addie crooked her finger at him.
“Oh, stop that.”
Her snapping voice jerked him right out of the scene. “Stop what?” Good thing the cat was on his lap, even with its claws.
“You’re fantasizing about me and some fictionalized version of Shirley, aren’t you? And we’re inviting you to join us, I bet.”
Damn, no wonder he always lost at poker. No point in denying it, he supposed. “And you interrupted before I got to the good part.”
“If two women are interested in each other, what makes you think they’ll want some guy pushing in on their action?”
“Good question. But hey, it is a fantasy, after all.”
She let out a breath, which made her bangs bounce. “I’m not gay.”
Something in his chest twanged. Something lower twanged, too, and he realized that it was much better to see her as unavailable. “I won’t fantasize about you and your girlfriend anymore. It was disrespectful.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m not gay. I told my father I was because he was always trying to settle me down with some boring guy. It just sort of came out of my mouth in my frustration one night after the umpteenth ‘Look who happened to stop by, honey.’ I was only poking him, but he bought it. So I let him believe it, which I know was mean and terrible, but I was desperate at the time. Since Shirley is gay, and my best friend, I use her as my cover.”
His whole body was pulling toward her now, which was really bad. “You may think you’re pretending, but down deep inside, you do swing that way. And that’s perfectly fine. Better than fine.” He let his gaze scan her without giving away how hot she looked in that tight shirt. Or at least he hoped he didn’t give it away. “You’ve got gay written all over you by the …” Except words failed him, because there was nothing but straight goodness as far as the eye could see. Come on, don’t fight me on this. Play along.
“By what?”
He gestured vaguely at her head, groping for something to point out as evidence. “By that certain light in your eyes and the way you move.”
Her mouth was getting tighter, her face redder. “By what light? And what way I move?” She came to a stop at a red light and turned to him.
He shrugged. “It’s just a vibe. I can’t put my finger on it.”
She shifted the van into park, leaned over, and plastered her mouth against his. Her hands gripped his shoulders, fingers digging in, and the moment his lips involuntarily parted, she plunged her tongue inside. Oh, buddy, she was so straight. His hands went to her waist, but he was too busy concentrating on the feel of her tongue against his to pay attention to whether his fingers could go all the way around.
When she started to pull away, he held her fast for another trip around her mouth. Finally, she smacked his shoulders, and he let her go. She fell back into her seat, rubbing the back of her hand over her mouth. Her breaths were coming faster.
Now he was really glad the cat was covering his lap. “All right, I believe you.”
Her eyes went from dreamy to narrowed. “You played me, didn’t you?”
He rubbed his forehead. “I was hoping we could go with the gay angle while I’m guarding your body. I mean, acting as your bodyguard. I was desperately hanging on.”
She frowned. “You want me to be gay?”
“Very much.”
“And … why?”
“Because you’re hot and you’re my client, and those two facts are a bad combination as far as my professional integrity is concerned. Why did you need to prove that you’re straight?”
“I …” Her mouth twisted as she seemed to search for the answer. “I don’t know. The impulsive side of me didn’t want to perpetuate the myth with you. Why did you suspect I was lying to begin with?”
“Because you ate me up with your eyes when I was changing shirts.”
She somehow managed to roll her eyes and look embarrassed at the same time. “I suppose women go gaga over you all the time.”
He chuckled. “Let’s just say that if I find myself near an available woman who revs my engine, we usually end up together.” His smile disappeared. “And you do. Which was why I realized that thinking you went the other way was actually a good idea. Light’s green.”
A horn blared behind her. She put the van into gear and pulled forward. “Well, no worries. That thing that happened between us, not happening again.”
“No siree.” He shook his head to further convince himself, because his body was having none of it. “I’m new to this civilian-bodyguard business, but I assume it would be unprofessional to bang my client.”
“Bang …” She blew out a breath of indignation, which made her horse do the same. “Aren’t you are the romantic?”
“Sorry.” He gave her a wooden smile. “Making love. Like that better?”
“I bet you’ve never made love in your life. But I’m sure you’ve banged plenty.”
No, he probably hadn’t made love to a woman, not with the appropriate feelings to match those words. He would comment only on the last part. “I don’t think I’ve, ah, indulged any more than the average guy.”
She arched her eyebrow and gave him a skeptical look. “Wow, you do have some modesty in there. Wait a minute. You said I revved your engine?”
He replayed his earlier words. Yep, he sure had. “In an off-limits manner of
speaking.”
“And keep it that way. You’re totally not my type.”
“Good.” Before the words and what is your type could come out of his mouth, she went on.
“You’re too arrogant. Too good-looking. Clearly a player, and I have no idea how to play that game, nor any interest in doing so. Besides, I have more important things on my plate than satisfying the hunger of my flesh.”
She had to go and put it that way, didn’t she? He focused on the second part of that sentence. “More important things like staying alive, I presume?”
“Like saving animals.”
Oh, buddy, he wished she did play for the other team. Because protecting that beautiful body wrapped around all that sass was going to be boo-coops harder now that he’d tasted her sweet mouth.
Love stories you’ll never forget
by authors you’ll always remember
eOriginal Romance from Random House
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Wild Ways Page 29